Business Growth and Support

Owning and running a business is hard. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. And it’s lonely at the top. Unlike everybody else in the business, people at the top have nobody to talk to. Co-workers can commiserate. Employees can find a mentor, or coach somebody new to the business. But when the buck stops with you, it can be hard to find somebody to talk to.

At Pragma, we believe in peer to peer learning. Sharing your experience with other business owners and leaders can be very powerful. It’s a great way to learn, and it can be pretty cost effective. Here are some of the leading organizations that provide peer to peer learning for business owners.

1
EO

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization is a leading global nextwork supporting entrepreneurs.  With 18,000 members globally, in 220 chapters in 76 countries around the world, it is a great resource, with lots of business owners to learn from.

hub.eonetwork.org →

2
YPO

The Young President’s Organization is a global leadership community for people who have reached the top executive position in their companies at a young age, and who meet specific other criteria. With 34,000 members globally, there is $9 trillion of combined revenue of YPO run companies.

ypo.org →

3
Vistage

Vistage is a private advisory board for CEO, executives and business owners.  With over 45,000 members in 35 countries around the world, Vistage offers professionally moderated montly advisory meetings with a focus on making the right decisions for your business.

vistage.com →

4
Association for Corporate Growth

The Association for Corporate Growth serves a mission to drive the growth of middle market companies.  It serves a community of investors, executives and advisors working to foster deals to grow the middle market.

acg.org →

5
Search Funds

The search fund model was delveloped in 1984 at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  Under the model, a recent MBA will find some investors to back her in the search to purchase a single business.  The fund pays all the expenses of the search, and finances the acquisition.  The Searcher gets to indentify and purchase a business to run.  SearchFunder.com is an on-line platform for Searchers to network, problem solve, and find opportunities.  Search funders are often overlooked potential buyers.

searchfunder.com/searchfunds →

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